07 | August | 2023 | the grizzle grist mill

List 30 things that make you happy.

Here’s a list of 30 things that make me happy. Some are in specific order but some are not. You can probably guess which ones are which…

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ

2. My husband

3. Holding his hand and saying, I Love You.

4. My boys, both of them.

5. Hugging our boys.

6. Family

7. Friends who stay and stand the rest of time.

8. Worship music that lifts the soul, connects me to Him or just reminds me Whose I am.

9. Coffee, flavored, with cream

10. The little things often more than the big things.

11. A rosebush blooming.

12. A walk in the woods.

13. Sunsets and waterfalls.

14. A hike up a mountain.

15. Having a hope in an eternal life in eternity.

16. Walking along the beach.

17. My cat purring and wanting to be loved.

18. Watching someone give their heart to Jesus.

19. Watching someone’s life being transformed for good.

20. Giving orphans Christmas presents.

21. Holding a sweet baby, no matter the age.

22. Preaching and seeing that someone actually connected with Him.

23. Listening to our almost grown boys talk about God, life, and things they will do, and realizing they have made good choices.

24. Hearing my husband and sons tell me they love me.

25. Having coffee with a good friend.

26. Cooking a good meal or delicious dessert for my family and knowing they enjoyed it.

27. Traveling to distant lands, flying in a plane, or just taking a road trip.

28. Antiquing in a small town.

29. Having deep conversation, light hearted fun, or anything in between with my love.

30. Being able to bring a smile to someone else.

There’s a ton more I’m sure I could share. And probably tomorrow, I’ll look back over this and realize I’ve forgotten to list something oh so very important.

So, please don’t judge. Just enjoy. And maybe take a moment to think of your own listing.

I wonder if you can now tell me your 30 things that bring such joy?

Too many people claim they’re gonna live better, gonna do better, gonna act better, but they’re still holding onto that which brings them down.

Some assert they’re gonna eat right, but the cabinets are filled with junk, and the menu is filled with fast food and calories.

Some proclaim they’re gonna get fit, but the weights gather dust, the shoes stay in the box, and the gym membership rolls through a year with the door never opened.

Some declare they’re gonna speak right, yet the music is turned to trash, the podcasts are filled with perversion, and the languages are covered with cussing and crudeness.

Some affirm they’re going to act better, yet the friends stay the same, the words ramble on with no change, and the actions are as redundant as the clock hand.

If you desire change, it must be proven within.

It you desire an alternate path, it must first be evident in your walk, then the journey will follow.

If you’re still entertaining the demons from which you claim to have been freed, then your receptivity will be the burden on your own shoulders.

It will be the nightmares of your own dreams.

Wake up!

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
Matthew 16:24-27